Automakers are no longer just manufacturing cars; they have begun developing robots as well.

Not long ago, GAC Group unveiled GoMate, its third-generation self-developed embodied AI humanoid robot. The group plans to realize mass production of self-researched and developed core components in 2025, and deploy complete robots for demonstration applications on production lines and industrial parks of its OEM subsidiaries including GAC Trumpchi and AION at the earliest opportunity.

A host of other auto manufacturers such as Xpeng, Chery, Xiaomi Auto and SAIC have also stepped into this field via independent R&D or equity investment, releasing relevant humanoid robot technologies, finished products and development roadmaps.

Automakers’ cross-industry competition in humanoid robots has further heated up this already high-profile emerging track, opening up broader prospects for the future of both the automotive and robotics industries.

Upon closer analysis, automobiles and robots share numerous similarities. The industry has long described advanced intelligent vehicles as “robots on wheels”. Equipped with artificial intelligence, vision sensors, large foundation models and other technologies, modern cars featuring autonomous driving and in-cabin intelligent interaction increasingly resemble smart robots that accompany human mobility. Likewise, many software and hardware components required for humanoid robot development — high-performance batteries, lightweight materials, as well as algorithms for target recognition and path planning — can draw mature experience from intelligent connected vehicles. Automakers enjoy clear advantages in technology migration when developing robots; meanwhile, deploying humanoid robots for trial operation inside auto plants helps cut R&D costs and accelerate real-scene demonstration.

The Central Economic Work Conference proposed rolling out the “AI Plus” initiative to foster future industries. Against the general backdrop of industrial integration, how can industries seize new growth opportunities and cultivate fresh growth drivers? The single character “Plus” reveals the core development logic of emerging industrial tracks.

Nowadays, industrial innovation led by technological breakthroughs is characterized by prominent interdisciplinary and cross-sector integration. Future industries emerge from the convergence of multiple technologies and disciplines, and inevitably require joint efforts from diverse sectors and multiple innovation entities.

Innovation knows no industrial boundaries, and cross-sector expansion is an inevitable path for many industries to grow and thrive.

Take new energy vehicles as an example. A decade ago, few could have imagined that consumers would one day buy cars not only from traditional automakers, but also from smartphone manufacturers and internet brands. Today, China’s annual output of new energy vehicles exceeds 10 million units, with leading strengths in power batteries, electric motors, electronic control systems and intelligent driving. Such achievements would not have been possible without cross-industry entrants known as new vehicle manufacturers and collaboration across the entire industrial ecosystem.

Industry institutions forecast that China’s humanoid robot market size is expected to surpass RMB 20 billion in 2026, and may surge to RMB 300 billion by 2035. This massive track holds tremendous untapped potential. To seize opportunities brought by technological revolution, the robotics sector must not only upgrade internally, but also expand its industrial ecosystem. Multi-sector breakthroughs spanning software, energy and automotive industries will jointly drive core technology advancement and create abundant application scenarios.

Innovation also relies on continuous inheritance. The shift from old to new growth drivers demands seamless relay of industrial development momentum.

The humanoid robot sector not only opens up a brand-new industrial track, but also helps consolidate and extend China’s existing strengths in electronics, equipment manufacturing and new energy. While cultivating future industries, the country can further strengthen its established competitive sectors, lifting the overall competitiveness and sustainable development capacity of the industrial system.

Cultivating future industries secures long-term industrial competitiveness — a key insight brought by new quality productive forces.

Auto OEMs march into the humanoid robot track; quantum industry draws participants from computing power and communications sectors; synthetic biology attracts not only biopharmaceutical firms, but also textile and materials enterprises. As future industries grow, more companies are exploring innovative business models and more sectors are reshaping their industrial landscape.

The path toward future development is unfolding at an unprecedented pace. Breaking down industrial barriers, boosting cross-sector innovation exchanges and deepening integration among all types of innovation entities will generate stronger momentum that pursues high-quality development through new technologies, powering industrial upgrading and economic growth.

Source: Xinhuanet